Sage of Humanity

Lu Ye's actions in the inner circle mainly involved leading the Haotian Alliance's Allied Forces into battle on all fronts. That collective strength, which amassed various sects, greatly diluted the emphasis on Lu Ye's own power. In other words, when one commands such a mighty army, the individual's own strength becomes irrelevant.

As a result, many on the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side had severely underestimated Lu Ye's strength. This was why those Level 7 and Level 8 Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators had eagerly rushed to confront Lu Ye upon discovering him.

On that day, the news of Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer entering the Core Circle spread swiftly, causing alarm and anger among those from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.

They were alarmed that this fellow's cultivation had improved so quickly that daring to enter the Core Circle surely meant he had switched to cultivating a Heaven Rank technique and that his cultivation level must have reached the 7th Heaven stage.

Their anger stemmed from the fact that it had been just over a month since the peace talks between the Divine Sea Realm camps, and Ten Thousand Demons Ridge had only just compensated them with supplies. Now Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer had reappeared, which gave off a sense of destroying the bridge after crossing the river.

Back in the outer circle, he had caused a major battle at Golden Light Peak that caught the attention of the world. It was said that two of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge outposts neighboring the Righteous Blood Sect in the outer circle had been severely damaged to the point where they had not been able to rebuild their outposts to this day.

The situation became even more unbearable upon entering the inner circle. Countless outposts directly or indirectly destroyed because of him reached over a hundred or two, and in the end, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge had been forced to compensate with supplies, adopting a posture that threatened mutual destruction if the Haotian Alliance did not cease its actions, leading to an unprecedented loss.

Even to this day, the turmoil within the inner circle hadn't fully subsided. The Haotian Alliance sects, which had managed to obtain advantageous positions in certain areas, were relentlessly suppressing the forces from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, making the reconstruction of their outposts an extremely difficult task.

Now that this calamity had entered the Core Circle, who knew what kind of trouble he would stir up next.

The only thing the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side wasn't worried about was Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer forming an Allied Force like he did in the inner circle within the Core Circle.

The situation in the inner circle differed from the Core Circle. Not to mention the vast distances between sect outposts, but there was also a colossal gap in the cultivators' cultivation levels.

The cultivators in the Core Circle were either brash and skilled Level 9s, but most had switched to cultivating Heaven Rank techniques. They were much stronger and more mobile than those in the inner circle, making it easier for them to provide support if needed.

Therefore, it was quite unrealistic for Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer to replicate his actions from the inner circle.

Moreover, the number of cultivators in each outpost in the Core Circle was limited, with a few having up to two or three hundred, while others had around a hundred or two. Pure sword cultivator sects like the Beixuan Sword Sect had only a few dozen members… There was hardly any surplus manpower to follow Lu Ye and form some kind of Haotian Alliance Allied Forces.

Although they weren't worried about Lu Ye copying his moves from the inner circle, they still had to be on guard. Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer had performed numerous astonishing deeds, and no one knew what else he was capable of. So, when the news of his entry into the Core Circle emerged, many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge forces in the circle took action.

One by one, cultivators from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge left their outposts and headed towards where Lu Ye had been sighted. Although there was no leader, a consensus was silently forming among the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side.

They had resolved that no matter what, they must slay Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer within the Core Circle and not allow him to continue growing stronger.

While news of Lu Ye's entry into the Core Circle was clamoring, another piece of information spread simultaneously.

Yuechan, ranked third on the Spirit Stream Ranking, had been challenged by Li Baxian outside the Mad Saber Sect outpost.

The grudge between these two had persisted for over a decade, and anyone familiar with the Spirit Stream battlefield knew their story. Usually, Yuechan would lie in wait outside the Loyal Heart Sect outpost, hoping to ambush Li Baxian, though she seldom caught him outside.

This time, however, it was Li Baxian who instigated the challenge, which was quite puzzling.

The outcome of the fight was even more unbelievable.

Yuechan died, Li Baxian injured!

According to disciples from the Mad Saber Sect who observed the battle, the match between these two was decided by a single move that determined both victory and death. It was so fast that bystanders could hardly react.

With this battle, Li Baxian reclaimed the top position on the Spirit Stream Ranking.

Once the news spread, the Spirit Stream battlefield was shaken, and so were the Nine Provinces.

Li Baxian was the first in history to ascend to such a high rank on the Spirit Stream Ranking with 8th Heaven cultivation, and naturally, he captured significant attention. If not for his damaged spiritual orifice that could not be repaired, his future would have been limitless.

Such a powerful figure whose progress in the Spirit Stream Realm had been halted for over a decade was, to many in the Haotian Alliance, a pity.

But today, his halted progress for over a decade finally surged forward.

The damage to Li Baxian's spiritual orifice had been completely repaired, and not only had he slain his old nemesis of over a decade, but he had also regained the top position on the Spirit Stream Ranking.

There were rumors that before he challenged Yuechan, Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer had visited the Loyal Heart Sect. Combining this with his previous actions in the inner circle where he destroyed the outposts of over a hundred Ten Thousand Demons Ridge forces and looted countless enhancements…

Anyone could guess that the orifice repair pill Li Baxian used to mend his spiritual orifice was purchased by Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer with a massive amount of merit points and given to him. Otherwise, with one orifice repair pill costing 150,000 merit points, who could afford that?

Now, it wasn't even 150,000 anymore as the price had gone up to 160,000 due to the decreased availability of the pills…

The Heaven's Augury treasure vault exemplified the principle of pricing rarity at its finest.

A day later, the names of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had both vanished from the Spirit Stream Ranking.

A celebration shared by all under the heavens!

For a long time, Feng Yuechan, Yan Xing, and Li Baxian, these three were the three malignant tumors on the Spirit Stream Ranking!

Each of them had been entrenched in the Spirit Stream Realm for over a decade, perennially occupying the top three positions on the ranking. No matter how talented the newcomers were, they couldn't surpass these three. It wasn't so bad when Li Baxian was hiding his true ability, as striving a bit could still earn them a spot at third place.

But since the battle at Golden Light Peak, when Li Baxian revealed his strength, even third place became a luxury.

Moreover, these three malignancies were all stuck at the Spirit Stream Realm level because of Li Baxian's influence.

Now things have changed for the better. Yan Xing has been killed, and both Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan have ascended to the Cloud River Realm, removing the three great malignancies that weighed upon the Spirit Stream Ranking in one fell swoop.

Many from the Haotian Alliance sects felt truly grateful to Lu Ye from the bottom of their hearts, believing that he had salvaged the Spirit Stream Ranking.

Even the forces from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, who were after him at the moment, felt that Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer had done a good deed for once.

Gratitude was unnecessary; the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge faction now would rather tear Lu Ye to pieces, so there was no room for any gratitude.

Liu Guang's weapon-controlled flight streaked across the sky, swift as thunderbolt. Behind Liu Guang, myriad figures wielding various flying spirit artifacts pursued relentlessly, some shouting curses as they chased.

Since Lu Ye's location was discovered, two days had passed. Throughout these days, they had barely stopped, perpetually fleeing for their lives.

They had no choice but to run. The forces of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge had formed a coordinated pursuit. No matter where they went, the faction from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge could accurately track their whereabouts.

Some pursuers had been shaken off, and quite a few Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators had been killed, yet nothing could curb the determination of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge faction to kill him. New pursuers steadily joined the chase.

The entire Core Circle was like a pot of hot oil into which a handful of salt had been cast; wherever Lu Ye went, turmoil boiled.

There were also Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators waiting in ambush ahead. Lu Ye evaded them if he could, and if he couldn't, he carved a bloody path through them.

Over these two days, cultivators from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge had witnessed a myriad of tactics from Lu Ye, which resulted in numerous casualties on their side.

Currently, two dilemmas stood before them that they could not solve. One was that Lu Ye's speed in weapon control-flying was too fast; he obviously had a way to greatly increase the speed of his flying spirit artifact in a short period of time.

The maximum speed a flying spirit artifact could achieve related to both the restrictions and quality embedded in the artifact itself and the cultivation level of the cultivator controlling it.

Although Ten Thousand Demons Ridge had mobilized a large number of people to hunt down Lu Ye, few could compete with him in speed. Even if they could catch up momentarily, they couldn't maintain it for long.

There's no talking of chasing down someone if you can't keep up with their speed. If not so, it wouldn't just be dozens of Liu Guangs following Lu Ye, but hundreds or even thousands.

Even among these dozens of Liu Guangs, some were still falling behind continuously.

If it were just an inability to keep up with the speed, that wouldn't be a big deal. Over these two days, many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators tried to ambush Lu Ye on his path to block him. As long as there was a slight entanglement, the pursuers could immediately catch up.

But in reality, even if some managed to block his path, it didn't help much.

The weapon control of Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer was too fierce.

This guy, with merely a 7th Heaven cultivation level, could actually control nine weapons! Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire

Although there was a huge gap compared to Li Baxian's control of a hundred weapons, controlling nine weapons was still an incredibly impressive feat. What troubled Ten Thousand Demons Ridge even more was the terrifying power of these nine controlled weapons.

There had been a 9th Heaven level physique cultivator blockaded in front, who almost got instantly killed by a concentrated attack from Lu Ye's nine controlled weapons. If not for the physique cultivator's exceptionally strong body, there would have been no escape from that predicament, even with such strength the cultivator still suffered severe injuries.

Controlling nine weapons was one thing, but what was key was that this guy's weapon control distance far exceeded the standard expected at the Spirit Stream Realm level.

Even 9th Heaven cultivators couldn't hold a candle to him.

The power and range of weapon control are related to the cultivator's mental strength, the purity of their spirit force, and their mastery over controlling spirit force.

The cultivators of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge found it puzzling: Lu Yiye was merely a cultivator who had just advanced to the 7th Heaven level, so how strong could his mental strength be, how pure his spirit force, and how perfect his control over his spirit force, to allow him to directly use weapon control to kill enemies from around seventy zhang away?

You should know that the maximum distance for a 9th Heaven cultivator's weapon control is generally around sixty zhang. Once it exceeds this distance, the weapon becomes uncontrollable.

A difference of ten zhang in the range limit of weapon control means that whoever faces Lu Ye will be struck by him first, subsequently falling into a passive situation.

In aerial battles, cultivators generally rely on weapon control as their primary method of combat. This invisibly amplified the advantage Lu Ye could hold.

At this moment, Lu Ye felt an immense relief for having consulted his Fourth Senior Brother about weapon control techniques and for taking his advice to buy a supplies box from the Heaven's Augury treasure vault.

Otherwise, he would have had no way to cope with such a relentless encirclement and chase by Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.